Knitters needle a way into charity work

Jessicah Peters/The Sun Today Bonnie Potter, Lynn Nasal, Nancy Leonard, Monica Vaccaro, Ilse Moore and Joan Claremont are part of the Sew What Club's special interest group, Because you're Special. The group knits and sows hats and other items for Sun City residents going through chemotherapy.

Jessicah Peters/The Sun Today Bonnie Potter, Lynn Nasal, Nancy Leonard, Monica Vaccaro, Ilse Moore and Joan Claremont are part of the Sew What Club's special interest group, Because you're Special. The group knits and sows hats and other items for Sun City residents going through chemotherapy.

Knitted hats to keep heads protected, socks to keep toes warm and a note of encouragement to press forward is given to special Sun City residents undergoing chemotherapy.

The Sew What Club began a particular interest group after the “knitters” wanted to work their needles into a charity. Lynn Nasal along with Bonnie Potter created a group called Because you’re Special to knit hats for women who have lost their hair during chemotherapy treatments.

Starting small, the women gathered others who loved to knit to make other items. Now with a group of about 90 members, Because you’re Special gives hats, socks, scarves and even a sown tote bag to many Sun City residents.

Through the Sew What Club, the group started by emailing the idea to about 700 club members. Anonymously, Because you’re Special receives requests from residents who would like to give a package to a certain friend or neighbor.

“We only know the first name and last initial and the neighborhood,” Potter said. “We want to just give to others and respect their privacy. There are times when we receive ‘thank you’ notes but when we read it to the group, we continue to keep the name private.”

Each gift comes in a personally sown bag, packaged and wrapped. Inside the bag there is a hat, socks, knitted beaded bracelet and scarf. Each item has a tag with the name of who created the item. Note cards of encouragement are also handmade and placed in each gift.

“It is very rewarding to get feedback and learn how much the gift meant to someone,” Nasal said. “Some people have brought it to the hospital and spirits are immediately lifted.”

For Joan Claremont, Because you’re Special has been a somewhat of a support group.

“Bonnie knitted a pair of socks for my sister and she wore them while she was in the hospital. When she passed away, my relative sent the socks back to me so whenever I feel sad and miss my sister, I put on the socks,” Claremont said.

The group doesn’t plan on connecting with hospitals to reach other cancer patients, but keeping it close to home by helping those in Sun City.

“There are already groups who do that here,” Isle Moore said. “We want to give to those who are affected inside Sun City because there is no group who is zeroed in on just serving the residents.”

While the group doesn’t keep up with how many gifts are given, the women meet once a month to discuss projects and target on making about 30 of each item for that month.

Because you’re Special also meets weekly for whoever needs help knitting a new pattern. Nasal creates new patterns and projects about every three months.

“We want to make something beautiful to give, but also challenge and have fun making the items,” Nasal said.